Ductor roller control



Jan. 27, 1953 B. B. PASQUINELLI 2,626,566

DUCTOR ROLLER CONTROL Filed July 11, 1950 I: INVENTOR.

j a Bruno B. PasquL'n/sd Patented Jan. 27, 1953 DUCTOR ROLLER CONTROL Bruno B. Pasquinelli, Chicago,

Miehle Printing Press and Mfg. Company,

111., assignor to Chicase, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application July 11, 1950, Serial No. 173,081

4. Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the inking mechanism of printing presses and is directed more particularly to improved means whereby the rotary movement of the ink ductor roller of flat bed cylinder printing presses is controlled through its cycle of operation.

In presses of this class, ink is transferred from a fountain roller to a reciprocating ink table by means of an oscillating ductor roller. During each printing cycle, this roller first contacts the fountain roller to receive a supply of ink and then transfers it to the ink table. Unless the motion of the ductor roller is accurately controlled during. this operation so that a certain degree of slippage between the roller and the ink table is assured, the resulting prints will show roller streaks and the ductor roller will be subject to excessive and uneven wear.

Exhaustive tests and actual production records show that for the best results, the ductor roller 1 should be free to move with the fountain roller when in contact therewith and also during the ink receiving stroke of the ink table. During the return stroke of the table, however, and preferably until immediately before the ductor roller contacts the fountain roller, the rotation of the ductor roller should be restrained to an extent sufiicient to cause slippage of the roller while in contact with the ink table so that with each oscillation of the ductor roller, its peripheral contact with the fountain roller will change, thereby avoiding uneven wear of the ductor roller and eliminating repeats which result in roler streaks on the finished prints.

Many devices have been suggested for the purpose of accomplishing the desired results but they do not fully solve the problems involved. Perhaps the most efficient mechanism proposed thus far is that disclosed in the Dudley Patent #2,239,168, wherein a clutch and brake assembly are arranged to permit free movement of the ductor roller and to restrain the rotation of said roller at the desired times.

In said patente'es device, however, the restraining means are utilized as part of the roller journal and, after continued use and wear of the restraining means, a loose journal and excessive movement or vibrations in the roller will result. Moreover, the fit of the journal is dependent upon the pressure of the restraining means and the pressure required to attain the desired slippage of the ductor roller is not always suiiicient to maintain the roller securely in its operative position.

Therefore, it is the primary object of my invention to improve the Dudley structure and to provide ductor roller restraining means-associated with the journalling means, but which is adjustable independently of the journalling means.

' the bed reciprocates.

Another object of my invention is to provide ductor roller restraining means, the setting of which will not be disturbed by removal and insertion of the ductor roller.

A still further object is to provide ductor roller control means which are efficient to operate, economical to manufacture and will be incorporated into the roller journalling means.

Further objects and advantages will be apparrent from the following description and the appended claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

Figure 1 depicts in side elevation that part of a printing press to which my invention appli s;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view, in section, of the ductor roller journalling and restraining means; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line III- III of Figure 2.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, the ink fountain i9 is attached to the frame H of a printing press by suitable means such as the brackets i2 which project rearwardly on each side of the press. The fountain roller it is journalled between the sidewalls of the fountain on the shaft I l, one end of this shaft projecting beyond the fountain wall and arranged to be rotated intermittently by ratchet means, not shown, since such means are well known in the art. A lever i5 is also associated with the shaft i l whereby the fountain roller i3 may be rotated manually when desired.

The ink distributing table 16 is attached to the type bed of the press and moves to and fro therewith. In order to distribute the ink so as to provide an even film over the entire surface of the table, a plurality of composition rollers I! are arranged to contact the ink table during operation of the press.

When the press is printin a fresh supply of ink is deposited onto the ink table each time This is accomplished by means of the ductor roller l8 which is arranged to oscillate between a position in contact with the fountain roller 3 to a position in contact with the ink table it, in timed relation to the reciprocating motion of the table and as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure l. The ductor roller is journalled in the free ends of a pair of oscillating arms it, one of which is arranged at each side of the inking mechanism and secured to the rock shaft 2| which is suitably journalled in the frame brackets 62;. Mechanism, not shown, but which i'sjwell known in the art, imparts intermittent oscillation to the shaft 2| and thereby to the arms 19 and ductor roller [8.

As shown in Figure 2, one end of the ductor roller is provided with a conventional one way clutch mechanism which includes a member 22 having an outer race 22' arranged thereon which remains stationary when the ductor roller rotates in the clockwise direction, but which will move with the ductor roller when its direction of rotation is reversed.

The free end of the arm !9 is formed with a recessed bearing 23 in which the clutch member 22 is journalled and it is provided with a bearing cap 24 which is pivotally connected to the arm I 9 by a pin 25 so that it can be swung open for removal and insertion of the roller [8 and associated parts.

The bearing cap 24 is held in its closed position by the bolt 26 and locking thumb nut 21, the bolt being pivoted to the arm l9 in a manner that it can be swung into locking position between the bifurcated ends of the bearing cap thereby obviating the necessity for completely removing the thumb nut 21 in order to release the bearing cap. The cap 24 is also provided with bosses 28 which are arranged to engage the arm IS in order to assure proper positioning of the cap so that it will not prevent free rotary motion of the clutch member 22 but will fit close enough to maintain the ductor roller in position and prevent excessive vibration, etc.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the bearing cap 24 is hollowed out to receive a brake shoe 29 which is pivoted on the pin 31 and has fixed to its inner surface a brake lining 32 arranged to bear on the outer race 22' of the clutch member 22.

Obviously the extent of pressure of the lining on the clutch member will directly aiiect the degree of slippage between the ductor roller and the ink table and this pressure is infinitely variable by means of the thumb screw 33 which is adjustably supported in the bearing cap with its free end in a position to bear on the shoe 2%... The thumb nut 34 is used to lock the screw 38 in any adjusted position. It will be understood that pressure of the brake lining on the clutch member will be controlled so that it will not altogether prevent rotation of the clutch race but will restrain it sufficiently to cause a slight slippage between the ductor roller and the ink table during the-return stroke of the bed.

It Will also be noted that the pressure of the brake lining 32 on the clutch member 22' can be varied independently of the bearing cap 24 and without disturbing the setting of its associated locking nut 27. Moreover, the cap 24 can be released and replaced at any time without necessitating readjustment of the brake lining pressure.

To facilitate removal and replacementof the ductor roller l8, a transversely disposed pin '33 is provided in the bearing cap 24 which is positioned so as to engage the free end of the brake shoe 29 when the cap 24 is swung back to release the roller. As a result, the brake shoe 24 is main tained substantially in its operative position and prevented from dropping out of place to thereby interfere with the closing of the bearing cap 24 after the roller is in position.

While I have herein disclosed, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of my invention, it shall be understood that I intend to cover any modification in the design or arrangement of parts which will come within the scope and broad interpretation of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In ductor roller control mechanism for printing presses the combination comprising a ductor roller, clutch means mounted at one end of said roller, said clutch means having operation to permit independent rotation of the roller in one direction and to rotate with said roller when its direction of rotation is reversed, means journalling said roller for rotation including a bearing cap having side walls arranged to embrace the periphery of said clutch means whereby to maintain the roller in its operative position, and means mounted between the side walls of said bearing cap and adjustable independently thereof with respect to said clutch means for restraining the rotation of said clutch means and thereby the roller when the latter is rotated in said reverse direction.

2. In ductor roller control mechanism for prin ing presses the combination comprising an ink ductor roller, means journalling said roller for rotation including a bearing cap having side walls to embrace the roller journal and maintain the roller in operative position, a brake member pivotally mounted between the side walls of said bearing cap to engage the roller journal, and independently adjustable means carried by said cap and associated with said brake member for selectively varying the pressure of said brake member on said roller journal.

3. In ductor roller control mechanism for printing presses, the combination comprising an ink ductor roller, means journalling said roller for rotation including a pivotally mounted bearing cap, said bearing cap having side walls to embrace the roller journal whereby to effectively maintain said roller in operative position, means associated with'said bearing cap for releasably locking said cap in roller journalling position and whereby said cap may be released to remove said roller, brake means pivotally mounted between the side walls of said bearing cap for contaet with the roller journal, means carried by said cap and adjustable independently thereof for selectively varying the pressure of said brake means on said journal, and stop means fixed between said side walls and adjacent the free end of said brake member for limiting the free movement thereof when the bearing cap is released to remove the roller.

4. In inking mechanism for printing presses having an ink fountain, a fountain roller, a reciprocating ink distributing table, and an oscillatable ink conveying ductor roller for transferring ink from the fountain roller to the ink distributing table, the combination of control means for said ductor roller including clutch means carried by said roller, said clutch means having operation to permit independent rotation of the ductor roller with the distributing table when said table moves in one direction and to move with the roller when the table and therewith the roller move in the reverse direction, means journalling said roller for rotation with said distributing table and including a bearing cap having side walls to embrace said clutch means whereby to maintain the roller in operative position, and independently adjustable brake means mounted between the side walls of said bearing cap for engagement with said clutch means to thereby restrain the rotation of said clutchmeans and thereby said roller when said table and said roller move in the reverse direction.

BRUNO B. PASQUINELLI.

' No references cited. 

